55Power of entry, search and inspection

55 Power of entry, search and inspection

(1) An authorised officer may, for the purposes of an investigation under this Division, exercise any of the following powers—

(a) inspect premises and any thing found at the premises;

(b) require a person to produce a document relevant to the investigation for inspection and (if necessary) to operate a computer or other device in which information is stored to produce a document in understandable form;

(c) retain a document for inspection, to make a copy of it, or to take extracts from it;

(d) require a person to answer questions relevant to the investigation;

(e) require a person to give the authorised officer any other assistance that may be reasonable in the circumstances to carry out the investigation.

(2) An authorised officer may enter premises for the purposes of an investigation—

(a) with the consent of the occupier; or

(b) on the authority of a warrant issued under section 56.

(3) An occupier who consents in writing to entry, search and inspection of his or her premises under this section must be given a copy of the signed consent immediately.

(4) An authorised officer must not exercise any powers under this section if the authorised officer fails to produce, on request, his or her identity card issued under this Part for inspection by the occupier of the premises.

(5) An authorised officer may carry out an investigation with any assistants and equipment the authorised officer reasonably requires to carry out an investigation.

(6) A person must not—

(a) hinder or obstruct an authorised officer who is carrying out an investigation or a person assisting the authorised officer; or

(b) without reasonable excuse, refuse or fail to comply with a requirement made by an authorised officer in the exercise of powers conferred by this section; or

(c) answer a question put by an authorised officer under this section knowing that the answer is false or misleading.

Penalty: In the case of a natural person, 100 penalty units;

In the case of a body corporate, 500 penalty units.

(7) A person is not guilty of an offence under subsection (6) arising from the entry of an authorised officer onto premises unless the court hearing the charge is satisfied that, at the material time, the authorised officer—

(a) identified himself or herself as an authorised officer; and

(b) warned the person that a failure or refusal to comply with the requirement may constitute an offence.